High Stakes in Heels
by lishthefish
Summary: Being a professional thief is one thing. Being a criminal and getting paid for it is another. Being a paid criminal with two identities might be a little tricky. Especially if one identity is dating the agent that's chasing your other identity. AH, OOC.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Do we really have to declare that we do not own Twilight? I'm pretty sure everyone knows Stephenie Meyer does.**

**This story is another collaboration between myself and _StarStrellaStar_ (who is quite possibly one of the most amazing people I know; she rocks and I love her).**

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><p><strong>High Stakes in Heels<br>Prologue **

"If life had a second edition, how would I correct the proofs?"  
>—John Clare<p>

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><p><strong>Alice Brandon<strong>

"Bella, get out of there now," I hissed, pushing the small ear device further into my ear.

"Just a minute," I heard Bella's voice whisper back. "I think I might actually be able to get this done."

"Don't do anything stupid. Get out! You just triggered the motion sensors!"

"How much time till security gets here?" she asked calmly.

"Fifty-three seconds now. Get out, God dammit!"

"Alice, stop hissing like that. I can't work under these conditions," Rosalie's voice stated coolly.

The two of them were connected to me by a tiny earpiece that could not actually be seen unless you looked really closely, but it wasn't likely that someone would gaze at the inside of our ears.

"You should hurry up, too, Rose. If Bella gets caught, they're going to check the vault," I told her.

"How much longer?" Bella urged.

"Forty-three seconds and counting. If you're already starting to ignore me, couldn't you at least work faster? I would've been done a long time ago."

Rose scoffed quietly. "No, you wouldn't have, Pixie, so stop complaining."

"Thirty-four seconds," I announced, choosing to ignore her comment.

"Almost got it," Bella mumbled.

"Seriously, why do you even bother? You've already set off the sensors," I said to her.

"Yes, but if I replace it with the duplicate, they'll be momentarily occupied, which will give me enough time to get out before they figure out it's a fake," she said, then chuckled quietly. "If they ever do."

"Twenty seconds," I informed her, feeling a little anxious.

"Start the countdown, babe, I'll be out in a sec," Bella whispered and then the connection was gone.

I cursed quietly.

"She ripped the earpiece out again, didn't she?" Rose asked, her voice telling me that she already knew the answer.

"Of course she did. You know how she is."

"Well, you know it's kind of difficult to work with voices buzzing around in your ear. It was a lot easier when we were on our own," Rose noted before my connection to her went dead as well.

I sighed. I really hated it when I had to keep watch on everything. I would definitely have to talk to Jake about that later. I seriously didn't care if his mom's birthday was today; he should be doing this job, not me.

I looked at the time ticking on the laptop screen.

_10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1..._

_Beep!_

If they didn't make it out, I sure as hell wasn't going to bail on them. The last time I did, I had to sacrifice my hair.

"Well, it was nice working with you," I muttered as I shut the laptop.

"What do you mean 'was'?" Rose's voice asked from behind me.

I turned and saw Rose and Bella standing in front of me, both of them wearing huge matching smiles on their beautiful faces.

I eyed them in suspicion. "Did you get the job done?" I asked after a moment.

Bella quirked an eyebrow at me and smirked as she let a stunning silver necklace with a dark blue pear-shaped diamond framed by white diamonds dangle from her finger, letting the gems glisten in the sun.

Rose held her hand out to me, showing off the cocktail ring occupying her finger. It had by far the biggest emerald I'd ever seen and it sparkled under the sunlight.

They looked at each other and grinned before saying, "Mission accomplished."

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><p><strong>AN: Very short prologue, but that's because it's just that, a prologue. Don't worry, things are bound to get interesting, that's a promise.**

**Ah, also, the quotes at the beginning of each chapter are merely for fun, nothing more. They more than likely will never hold any significance toward the chapter, so don't confuse yourself. I'm thinking I'll write a "quote of the day" for every chapter.**

**And yes, Star and I realize that the titles of our story has a one word difference (hers is High Stakes in High Heels and mine doesn't have the second "high"), it was intentional. :)**

**Please leave a REVIEW and let me know if you think we should continue with this story.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure everyone already knows what I'm going to say, so how's about I leave this one to the imagination?**

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><p><strong>High Stakes in Heels<br>Chapter One**

"Be at peace with your own soul, then heaven and earth will be at peace with you."  
>—St. Jerome<p>

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><p><strong>Bella Swan<strong>

"Fuck," I cursed loudly, making several heads turn in my direction. In my haste to get to work, I had been pushing myself through the endless mass of people and wound up dropping the coffee in my hand. Not good. I shook it off and resumed my half-sprint, pulling out my cellphone.

"Ms. Mallory's office, how may I help you?" Angela's friendly voice chirped from the other end.

"Ang, I need a coffee for the witch—I just dropped the one I got," I told her desperately.

"I'll get on that right away."

"Thanks, Ang. You're a life saver."

"No problemo, amigo," she replied happily and then hung up.

I let out a sigh of relief and threw my phone back into my purse. I quickly made my way to the office building in my insanely high pumps, which I would probably end up throwing at the wall the second I got home. I really didn't understand why I had to get dressed up like a fashionista just to go work for a gossip magazine. Okay, officially it was a woman's magazine, and one of the most popular at that, but still, in reality, it was nothing but a gossip rag with a smidgen of fashion mixed in. It's not like it moved the world much. But my boss, Lauren Mallory, still insisted that all of her employees look their best, especially her personal assistant, which of course, was me. So every morning I had to force myself to wear some kind of fashionable outfit, even if I wanted nothing more than to wear a simple t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

Today I even had to wear one of those professional-looking costumes because it was staff meeting time again and Lauren wanted a "professional atmosphere." She also insisted I have a coffee prepared to hand her the second she walks through the door and I prayed that Angela could get it before she arrived, otherwise I would be forced to sit through one of her bitch fits. _Again._

I walked through the entrance and gave a quick nod of acknowledgement to the receptionist before I nearly jumped into the elevator as the doors were about to close.

"Forget the coffee again, Crane?" Laurent, one of my colleagues, asked me when he glanced down at me, obviously having seen my hand with no coffee in it.

"Just shut up," I sighed and blew an annoying strand of blond hair out of my face.

"You know she'll let out her bad mood on all of us at the meeting thanks to you, so you might wanna consider thinking of a good reason why we shouldn't kill you."

"Shut. Up," I repeated and got off the elevator when the bell dinged and the doors opened.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help," Laurent called after me.

I ignored him and quickly strut toward my desk right beside the door to Lauren's office. She wasn't there yet, of course, and I had to get things done for her. Being her assistant didn't have many pros, but since she travelled from time to time, I at least didn't have to work the days she was gone.

I dashed into the little kitchen to retrieve a plate and then rushed to Lauren's office, unlocked the door, and entered. I took out the magazines that she demand be on her coffee table every morning and laid them neatly there along with the plate on which I placed her daily blueberry muffin and croissant, which I'd also bought on the way here.

"Knock, knock," a voice called from the door.

I barely even had time to glance up as I rushed to make the office presentable enough for Lauren's taste. "Angela, I love you. I'm going to start calling you an angel from now on," I sang when I saw her standing in the doorway with the coffee in her hand.

"I'm just doing my job as secretary," she replied nonchalantly.

"Sometimes I think you're more like my assistant."

"No, I'm just a wonderful friend," she affirmed with a smile as she placed the coffee on the table.

I grinned back at her before I opened the curtains and the windows, turned on Lauren's computer, and place the mail that Angela had just handed me on her desk. "Did I forget anything?" I asked when I was done with all of that.

"The flowers," Angela informed me calmly.

"Oh shit, I'll be right back." I sprinted toward the elevator again and continuously pushed the button like a madwoman. When I was finally on the level where I wanted to be, I dashed through the rows of cubicles until I got to the one I needed. "Laurent, I need your flowers," I told the dark-skinned man whom I definitely hadn't been very nice to today.

"Oh, now that you want something from me you're being nice, huh?" he said sarcastically, not looking up from the book he was reading.

"I don't really want anything from you. It's just...all that's saving you from Lauren's wrath today is the vase that's always on your desk with tulips in it. You don't have to give them to me, but then you'll have to come up with a good excuse so the others and I won't kill you," I told him sweetly, throwing his earlier words back in his face. I had a knack for that.

Laurent looked—or rather glared—at me and then motioned his head toward the vase, allowing me to steal his flowers.

I let out a tiny squeal before I quickly pecked him on his cheek and grabbed the vase, running back to the elevator and flying up to Lauren's office.

"You've got one minute to get those flowers in there," Angela said as soon as I stepped out of the elevator. "She's already downstairs."

I rushed passed her, but glanced up for a brief second to see that she was staring down at her phone. I practically ran into Lauren's office and all but threw the vase on her desk. I only had time to hastily smooth down my black pencil skirt before I heard the ding of the elevator and the nasally voice we all hated.

"Izzie, newspaper," she barked the second she spotted me in her office. "And make it snappy." She snapped her fingers.

"Already got it," I answered, holding myself back from snapping at her and losing my job as I took the newspaper from my bag. I'd picked it up on the way to work, already knowing she'd demand it. I handed it over to her and she snatched it out of my hands and narrowed her fishy pale green eyes at me.

"Thank you, Izzie," she said as she moved herself around to the chair behind her desk. She looked up at me when I stood there. "You may go," she told me, making shooing gestures with her hands.

I nodded once, turned around, and let out the eye roll that had been trying to push it's way out since she arrived.

"Still alive?" Angela asked me with a smirk. She was perched casually on my desk.

"Barely," I replied with a sigh.

"Well, I guess I better get back to my desk before I'm the one who's no longer alive," she said and pointed at her desk on the other side of the room. As if on cue, the phone rang and Angela ran, as fast as she could in her high heels, to answer it. "Ms. Mallory's office," she sang as happily as always. The way she made her voice sound, it was like she thought it was a good thing to be here.

With another sigh, I started arranging Lauren's schedule for the next week before I would have to work through the stack of papers that stared at me.

I was in the middle of working, and had actually forgotten everything about my surroundings, when Lauren's awful voice spoke through the intercom.

"Izzie!" she snapped sharply. She said nothing more than that, but then again, she never did.

I reluctantly stood up and made my way to her office. "Yes, Lauren?" I asked as politely as I possibly could.

"I hope you are aware that we have a staff meeting today," she informed me in a clipped tone.

"Of course, Lauren."

"Well, I just wanted to make sure that you arrange my notes correctly. Mr. Volturi is going to be there."

Mr. Volturi was going to be there, too? Now _that_ was something I hadn't known. Mr. Aro Volturi was an obnoxiously rich man who had nothing better to do than sponsor various things—for instance, this magazine.

"Is that all?" I asked her.

"No, I also want you to cancel all of my appointments after the meeting. I've got a date." She had a smug smile on her face.

"Just a moment, ma'am," I declared and went back to my desk to rearrange this weeks schedule on my computer. I quickly printed it off, tapping my foot impatiently on the ground as I waited for the printer, and then went back to Lauren's office. "Okay," I started when I got back in, "I will have to call Dr. Hudson to reschedule your appointment, and I will have to take over the video conference with Mrs. Jackson. Is that okay?" I inquired, already knowing what her answer would be.

"No. Tell Mrs. Jackson that I got an interview offer from somebody else," Lauren answered lazily.

I nodded in understanding. "Is there anything else you need, Lauren?"

"Actually, Izzie, there is." She looked thoughtfully at me. Her expression was so serious that I wondered what would be coming next. "Do you know what FBI stands for? Everybody knows what the FBI does, but somehow, no one seems to know the meaning," she said as if that was really a serious matter.

Did she not know what FBI meant? Okay, so maybe I shouldn't expect too much out of a naturally blond person that went to the hairdresser once a month to dye her hair blond.

A lock of my hair fell in my face. Huh, maybe I shouldn't be the one talking.

"Federal Bureau of Investigation," I answered her question.

She pursed her lips. "Shouldn't it be FBOI?" she wondered.

"Yeah," I said, trying to hard my sarcasm. "But I guess the world is just _full_ of mysteries."

Lauren merely nodded absentmindedly before gesturing for me to leave again.

Apparently I wasn't going to get an explanation as to why she had just asked that.

"Oh, and Izzie?"

I turned around to see Lauren walked over to her closet. "Yes?"

She pulled out two short dresses that looked like they would hardly cover any skin at all. "Red or black?" she asked, looking at me expectantly.

The only difference I could see in the dresses was the color, and I honestly didn't care what one she wore.

"The black one," I answered as convincingly as I could to make it sound as if I actually did care.

Lauren looked at the two dresses and then nodded. "Good choice. You may go now."

I strode quickly out of her office before she could ask me what shoes she should wear with it.

I continued with my work, taking breaks every now and then.

"Izzie?" I heard Angela call.

"Yes?" I answered absentmindedly, too involved in my work.

"You might want to get Lauren, the meeting is about to start," she reminded me.

"Ah, fuck," I hissed, whirling up from my chair and practically bursting into Lauren's office. Why she was unable to looked at the time was a mystery to me, but I was too smart to tell her that she should keep an eye on the time. "Lauren, the meeting," I told her.

"Oh, is it already time? Well, get my notes and we will be on our way."

"Already got them here," I responded, holding up my notebook.

"Alright, then let's go." She picked up her purse and then waltzed out of her office with me trailing behind.

When the elevator doors opened, I saw a familiar person standing in it.

He quickly straightened up and put a smile on his face, running a hand through his brown hair. "Good morning, Ms. Mallory," he greeted hastily.

"Rick," she acknowledged with a nod.

"Um...my name is Ryan."

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Do I look like I care, Robin?"

"No, Ms. Mallory," he mumbled, his eyes turned downcast.

"Didn't think so, Ralph," she huffed in response.

I just watched the exchange silently and then sent an apologetic smile to Ryan.

The elevator doors opened and Lauren strut right out.

"Don't take it personally," I said to Ryan. "Eventually she'll treat you somewhat like a human being."

Ryan hadn't been with us long, so he was still desperately trying to get on Lauren's good side—which was pretty much impossible—while the rest of us had given up on that. The only reason she was nicer to me than the rest of the employees, was probably because we shared the blond hair.

"Izzie," Lauren called sharply and I hurried to catch up with her.

A few of the people that usually attended the meetings were already sitting in their respective seats at the conference table when Lauren and I walked into the room. They all rose to greet Lauren, as if we were still in elementary school, but she only whizzed passed them to take her seat at the head of the table.

Like always, I had to sit to her right and be ready to take notes of everything that she deemed important.

When everyone seemed to have settled down, a new group of people walked through the door.

"Ah, a wonderful morning to all of you," the tall, black-haired man leading the group greeted. The two men behind him said nothing as they followed like the good little minions they were.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

Aro Volturi, wearing an expensive suit as always, and his two lap dogs were always the last to arrive on the scene. The two men that followed him everywhere he went were one of his assistants—a guy that looked more like a bank man—and one of his countless bodyguards. The two of them were always with him, though they were not the only ones. Aro had so many bodyguards around him that even the President himself would be awed.

As always, Aro took a seat at the head of the table, opposite Lauren. Much like I was flanking her, his two companions were stuck to his sides.

"Well, there is no need to wait. Show me what I am paying so much money for," Aro instructed immediately.

Lauren sent him the smile she reserved specially for him. "Good morning, Aro," she said pleasantly. "I'm sure that you will be very pleased with the progress we've made. Izzie?"

As usual, my name sounded more like a command as it left her mouth. But instead of sighing like I wanted to, I stood up, smiled as brightly as possible, and quickly listed the updated stats concerning the magazine, which I had memorized.

Seeing Lauren's slightly surprised expression when I mentioned that our printing numbers had increased led me—like so often—to the conclusion that I knew more about her business than she did. I really had to wonder what exactly she was doing here.

"Thank you, Izzie," Lauren said politely when I ended my little speech and sat back down.

"Well, while that is all fine and dandy, I want all of my projects to boom. I only invest in interesting and trendy things. I sincerely hope that you have brilliant ideas, otherwise I might have to have a little chat with you, Ms. Mallory," Aro spoke slowly, thoughtfully.

Lauren's eyes widened slightly before her smile returned—only now, it looked icy. "I assure you, Mr. Volturi—" her sudden use of formality did not go unnoticed by me, "—that my employees have all worked extremely hard to come up with fabulous ideas." Her gaze swept through the group. "Am I right?"

The nods that followed her question didn't look very convincing. Lauren noticed this, too, and her gaze began to match her icy smile.

"Alright then. Charlotte, why don't you tell us what your department has been working on?"

Charlotte looked more than just a little startled at the mention of her name; she even jumped slightly in her seat. "Um... Yeah... Uh... I..." Charlotte stuttered as she went through the small stack of papers settled in front of her.

"Charlotte, we are waiting," Lauren sang sweetly.

Poor Charlotte just seemed to become even more nervous, and she somehow manoeuvred her papers on the floor.

"I...I... Just a sec." Charlotte disappeared hurriedly underneath the table.

While she was gathering her papers, Lauren's wicked smile grew and Aro began to whisper quietly to his assistant, who nodded and took notes. The rest of the workers all did their best to look impassive, all of them afraid to become the next victim if they dared to make a sound.

"Charlotte," Lauren sang again, "we're waiting."

Charlotte made a few noises and then reappeared, looking flustered. She pulled herself back into her seat, breathing heavily.

"Well, then, I guess we'll just listen to someone else. How about you, Laurent?"

Laurent's face looked almost as cheerful as Charlotte's had.

"Um..." I spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. "I think you really should wait for Charlotte to catch her breath, Ms. Mallory. The fitness department had this really great idea..." I let my voice trail off.

"We do?" Charlotte asked, surprised.

I gave her a meaningful glance.

"Oh, that idea," she said in realization as she caught on. "Um, yeah... The whole team came up with a new concept to motivate our readers to uh... Get fit...for the summer. Beach body and...yeah."

Lauren nodded slowly, still glaring at Charlotte. "And how, exactly, are you planning to do that?" she asked.

Charlotte looked a little baffled. "Err... Yes. We thought of something really motivating. Uh... Interactive workouts?"

"What the fuck is an interactive workout?" Lauren asked, making a face as if she'd smelled something disgusting.

Charlotte looked like she was asking herself that question, her face turning a little helpless.

I quickly scrambled in my mind for a good idea. "It's a pretty brilliant idea, really," I chirped in, having no clue where I was going with my words.

Charlotte looked at me as if she were about to drown, while Lauren gave me a skeptical glance. I realized that everyone else was also watching me with interest in where this improvised session was going.

"The concept is quite simple," I began to babble. "A lot of the woman who want to workout just don't have the right motivation because they have no one to keep them company. So the idea is that the entire fitness team will set up in different location. Like gyms or parks or whatever. We'll set up a Facebook page and a Twitter account, and they'll post their locations, and then the women who want to take part and are nearby can join them and workout together," I spoke quickly, making up the plan as I went.

"I like the idea, but how exactly do you get the women to show up?" Aro suddenly questioned.

Charlotte decided to use the moment to speak in coherent sentences again. "The first ten that arrive will get a full, one-year membership to a fitness centre of their choice. The first twenty get the new iPod Nano, and the first fifty will get a full sport equipment set. We'll do that for two weeks, and the participants will use the time to get to know each other and continue on their own."

Aro nodded his head eagerly, his beady eyes bright. "You should do more things like this. That is what I call trendy and up-to-date. You should really use the social networks more."

Once those words left his mouth, everyone exploded with "brilliant" ideas and I leaned back in my chair, occasionally typing down important things.

Charlotte caught my eye and sent me a grateful smile.

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><p>I settled myself back at my desk and stared lazily at the computer screen. Lauren was inside her office, fuming over the fact that Aro Volturi had praised every one of her workers except herself. She was especially pissed at me, since I'd started the whole thing. I wasn't entirely sure if I should remind her that she was supposed to be out on a date. Whoever the poor guy was, he'd probably be grateful if I didn't remind her. But then again, I would get off work early if I did remind her.<p>

While I was trying to decide whether or not I should remind Lauren about her date, I heard the ding of the elevator. Instinctively, Angela—who was across the room—and I looked up. As far as I knew, there were no visitors for today. I quickly looked through the schedule, already halfway out of my chair.

"Excuse me?"

I looked up at the owner of the velvety smooth, masculine voice.

The first thing I saw when I looked up was a sea of green. Startling emerald eyes were looking down at me.

I hurried to get myself into an upright position and hastily tossed my hair over my shoulder so it wouldn't be in the way. "Yes?" I said politely, now taking in the rest of the person in front of me.

There stood a man with strangely bronze-colored hair that was in a complete disarray. I wondered briefly if his hair was naturally like that, or if it took a Herculean effort and a large amount of gel products to get it like that.

As if he'd read my mind, his left hand suddenly shot up and moved through the mess of hair. I noticed that, whoever he was, he had long, elegant fingers. That alone was strangely alluring, but combined with the hair and the eyes, it was just downright erotic. I shook those thoughts from my head and concentrated on his words instead.

"I'm here to see Lauren Mallory?" he spoke again. Why his words sounded more like a question was unknown to me, but I didn't care, either. A sort of unsure half-smile appeared on his lips.

I had to admit, he was a beautiful specimen, with his mess of bronze hair, striking emerald eyes, incredibly strong and defined jaw, and his lean, trained body clad in a suit.

I heard him clear his throat and snapped out of it, blushing slightly as I hurried to grab a pen and something to write on.

"I'm sorry," I gushed, blushing deeper when I heard Angela giggle somewhere in the background. "I'm afraid you don't have an appointment, but we can arrange that, Mr..." I'd found a stack of Post-Its and looked up at the beautiful stranger questioningly.

He stared back at me for a moment before he answered. "I do have an appointment, or at least something like that," he informed me quietly, his eyes gazing intently at me.

I regained my professional posture and offered him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure that you don't. You see, I'm Lauren's personal assistant and I handle all of her appointments, and I know for sure that she hasn't arranged for anyone to come to her office this week. In fact, she let me cancel everything for today because she—Oh." It suddenly dawned on me that the creature in front of me was Lauren's date.

I felt the tiniest bit of discomfort at the thought of the two of them together and I asked myself how in the world Lauren had managed to land that guy. She definitely didn't deserve him. Then again, maybe I shouldn't think like that because I didn't really know him. For all I knew, he could be a male version of Lauren.

"I'll let Lauren know that you are here. Would you like to take a seat?" I offered, gesturing to the small, arranged seating area close to my desk, while I turned toward Lauren's office.

I hastily let myself in and saw complete chaos in front of me. Every single item of clothing was thrown around in the room, and Lauren was hopping on one foot in her underwear, pulling on a pair of red pumps.

"I don't remember calling you in," she hissed, not looking at me.

"I'm sorry, I just thought that you might want to know that your date is here," I informed her.

She came to a screeching halt. "Edward's already here?"

I nodded in reply.

"Well, tell him to wait and that I'm still changing." She made a motion with her hands to shoo me out of her office.

I gladly obliged and stepped out, sighing at the thought of having to clean up her mess.

"Everything alright?" The velvet voice asked me and he began to rise from the leather chair he sat in.

I gestured for him to sit back down as I nodded my head. "She's currently changing. She asked me to tell you to wait a little while longer."

I didn't miss the guilty expression that crossed his face, but I couldn't place it. Instead of dwelling on it, I simply shrugged it off and went to sit at my desk. I quickly threw a glance in Angela's direction and mouthed the word 'Help' at her as I jerked my chin in the direction of Lauren's office. Angela understood immediately and smiled at me with a nod. _Thank God for Angela._

"So, you're Izzie, right?" the voice asked.

I looked up to see him standing in front of my desk again. I frowned in confusion, since I had no idea how he knew my name.

"Lauren mentioned you," he clarified when he saw the look on my face.

I nodded slowly.

"Well, I'm Edward. Edward Cullen." He held out one of those glorious hands to me.

I grasped it quickly and shook his hand. Or at least I wanted to. The second our hands met, I felt some weird electricity jolt me where our hands touched. I pulled my hand back just abruptly as he did.

"It's nice to meet you, Edward," I said absentmindedly as I gave my hand a quick, confused glance.

He hummed. "Nice to meet you, too."

He must have felt the jolt as well, since he inspected his hand briefly, like I did.

"So... Um, Izzie. Any pointers on how I am going to survive this?" he asked me, then pointed toward Lauren's office.

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "Doesn't sound like you're really looking forward to your date."

Edward grimaced. "It's not really a date; she kind of just talked me into it."

I giggled at his admission. "Lauren talked you into a date? How did she swing that? Does she pay you?" I was still laughing quietly when Edward dragged his hand through his hair again.

"I wish. I'm not even sure how it happened. I just remember accidentally bumping into her the other day, spilling coffee all over her clothes, and before I knew it, she'd demanded that I take her out." Once again, he ran his fingers through his dishevelled hair. I started to notice that he looked really stressed out.

"Don't worry so much. Just compliment her outfit, keep a safe distance, and smile. You can do pretty much whatever you want, since you're gorgeous. She's going to complain about all of your mistakes later on to me, but you'll make it safely through the date as long as you don't give off the wrong...vibes."

Edward's earlier expression turned into a flirtatious crooked smile. "So you think I'm gorgeous, huh?"

The sudden change in his voice caught me off guard and I could only stare at him, seeing that smile on his face.

"Err...I just...I mean, it's pretty obvious, isn't it? I was just stating a fact," I blabbered.

"Well, Izzie, I think that you need to set your faces straight. I'm merely good-looking. You, on the other hand, are indeed gorgeous," he said that so calmly that I almost believed him. He winked at me with a playful grin in place.

I smiled back shyly and ducked my head, hiding my very prominent blush.

"One super hot top model coming right up," Lauren's voice suddenly piped from behind me.

I looked at her and saw her wearing her hair in a messy updo, and her body clad in an extremely short red dress, combined with impossibly high heels in black.

She threw a look of disdain in direction. "Izzie, why is your face so red? Do something about that," she nagged, causing me to blush more.

I heard a musical chuckle from behind me and it didn't help matters at all.

Lauren turned her attention to her date. She smiled before she resumed talking in a chirpy voice, "Shall we get going?"

Edward was looking at her with a half-smile plastered on his face. "Of course. And I hope you don't mind me telling you that you look incredible."

Lauren was very obviously pleased with his words, and began to lead the way out. "Of course I don't mind you telling me how wonderful I looked," she giggled in that really unattractive way of hers.

Edward turned back to me and sent a wink along with a smile. An beautiful, crooked smile. The sort of smile that makes the person smiling irresistible, and leaves the person on the receiving end with blurry thoughts. I hardly even noticed the two of them had left until Angela was suddenly perched on my desk.

"Oh, Izzie," she sang.

I reluctantly looked up at her. She was fanning herself with a small piece of paper.

"How very shameless of you to flirt with Lauren's date," she scolded, and shook her head in mock disappointment.

"I wasn't flirting with him," I defended myself.

"Uh huh. Sure."

"Don't look at me like that. I wasn't flirting, I was just being polite by talking to him.

Angela wiggled her finger in front of my face. "And how do you explain that blush? You know, it kinda surprised me because you're usually so confident and outspoken."

I made a face. "I wasn't blushing," I murmured.

"Well, then I'm sure you won't mind me keeping this." She waved the paper in my face and then hopped off my desk.

I looked at her in confusion.

"He had really beautiful writing, this Edward guy," she mused.

My head snapped up and I darted out of my chair, snatching the paper out of her hand.

_Call me. I need to make an appointment._

The number that followed those words was written just as beautifully as the words.

My heart raced in my chest.

* * *

><p>With a stack of mail in my hand, I waited patiently for the elevator to stop on my floor. As soon as it did, I was greeted with loud metal music. I sighed, knowing that my obnoxious neighbour wouldn't turn this ear-splitting music off for the next couple of hours. It if was at least good metal he listened to, it wouldn't be so bad, but it seemed like he carefully selected songs that would get on my nerves.<p>

I quickly slipped into my apartment and shut the door, before I kicked my shoes off and dropped the mail and my keys on the little glass stand beside the door. I tugged off my jacket and threw it in a corner as I sprinted toward the bathroom. As always, my bladder seemed to be dead set on greeting the toilet after a long day. A few minutes later, I shuffled back into the living room/kitchen.

It didn't take me long to dish some leftover lasagna onto a plate and get it into the microwave. I retrieved my mail and took my plate with me to my comfortable, plush couch. I switched on my TV, opened my laptop that was resting on the coffee table with my feet, shovelled lasagna into my mouth, and began sorting through the mail.

Most if it was bills that I had yet to pay, and then there was a reminder from the owner of this building, telling me that I had one month before I had to move out. I sighed, not really wanting to think about that. The owner had sold the building and it was going to be torn down in about a months time.

This apartment building had to make room for luxury condos. I definitely wasn't looking forward to that. My apartment was small, but I didn't mind. The kitchen was open, and in the middle of the room between the entrance and the TV area. Rose always said it was like a bear when she visited and sat at the counter on one of the stools. Because of that statement from my dear college friend, I'd actually made a semi-bar out of my kitchen. Unfortunately, Rose never got to see it.

The mere thought of looking for a new apartment made me want to cry. It seemed like every apartment that would be suited for a single like me was already taken, and those which were not were far above my financial possibilities. I didn't think that asking Lauren for a raise would be a good idea, either.

My thoughts of finances and apartments were interrupted when I heard my phone ringing.

I set my plate on the coffee table and grabbed the phone, before laying on my stomach to continue looking at my mail.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Bells!" A high-pitched voice squealed from the other end.

I smiled at the sound of the voice. "Hey, Alice."

"Gosh, I am so happy to hear your voice again. I haven't heard from you girls in ages, and I just suddenly felt so lonely that I had to call you," Alice immediately began to gush.

"I know that feeling," I responded. "I'm glad to hear from you, too. It's really strange not having you guys around."

"Oh, yeah. It just makes you wish for the good old days in college, right? I swear it was destiny that brought us together."

I snorted at that, recalling the situation in which we first met.

"So Bella, how was your day? I'm just lounging around and have nothing interesting to tell you."

"The usual. Nothing too special happened at work. Except maybe that I had to save Charlotte's ass in the meeting, and kind of brought the magazine up to the standards Aro was missing in the process. And I got the phone number of some guy who walked in today," I told her nonchalantly, although I could feel my cheeks warming at the mere thought of his eyes.

"You flirted with a guy? You? Isabella Swan?" Alice screeched.

"God, what is it with you people? I wasn't flirting, I was just being nice."

"Whatever, Swan. Tell me everything!"

I took a deep breath before launching into the story of my encounter with Edward Cullen.

"You're taking your boss' man now? Just wow." Alice laughed loudly at that.

I didn't bother to comment, and instead moved on with the conversation. I told Alice everything that she'd missed since we'd last seen each other. We laughed together, and she told me everything that was new in her life. It was good to talk to Alice again after I hadn't seen her for months.

While we talked, I had totally forgotten about my mail and thrown all of the envelopes off my couch. When I did that, though, a certain envelope caught my eyes.

"Oooh, I got a pretty sparkly letter," I heard Alice's chipper voice in my ear.

I picked up the envelope that had fallen down and inspected it. It was a dark royal blue and had a slight sparkle to it.

"Me, too," I told her slowly.

"Really? You got a purple sparkle letter, too?"

"No," I answered. "Mine's blue."

"Do you think Rose sent us something? I don't know why she wouldn't just call or email us if she feels like we should get together again, but maybe it's a present; although, it doesn't really look like there's much in it. Maybe plane tickets? Or maybe she just thought it would be nice to send us letters in our favourite colors," Alice blabbered.

"What makes you think Rose sent the letters?" I asked absentmindedly as I inspected the envelope. As far as I could see, there was no indication anywhere that could tell me who'd sent it.

"There's no one else who knows my full name, favourite color, and address," she explained simply.

I eyed the front of the envelope again. Sure enough, it was addressed to Isabella Marie Swan. There weren't maybe people who knew my middle name, let alone my full name, simply because I never used it. Not even my parents called me Isabella.

"Let's open it together," Alice suggested. "One...two...three."

I ripped the envelope open swiftly, and wasn't really surprised to find a letter inside. I unfolded the crisp white paper and began to read.

_Dear Ms. Swan,_

_After a great deal of research on your persona, I am happy to inform you that your skills have impressed me greatly. You have proved your brilliance over and over again, although it upsets me that you are unable to really shine. A sharp mind and trained physique like yours is truly fascinating and rare to find._

_It is also exactly what I need._

_Please take this seriously because I need your assistance. Enclosed, you will find a plane ticket. You will fly over on the assigned date, so that we can meet face to face._

_I look forward to it._

_Yours truly,_

_CC_

"Who in the world is CC?" Alice and I wondered aloud at the same time.

"You got the letter, too?" I inquired.

"Depends," she answered. "Did you get a plane ticket to London?"

I fished the ticket out of the envelope.

"Yep."

"Well, then I guess we both got a mysterious letter from a mysterious person." Alice sounded thoughtful.

"I don't think we should fly over," I told her warily, as I continued to look at the letter suspiciously. There couldn't possibly be anything good behind it.

"I think we should," Alice answered after a moment of silence.

"Why?"

"Because Rose just sent me a text asking who CC is."

"That is strange, but not a good enough reason for us to fly over."

"Maybe not, but at least we'll get to see each other again." The squeal that followed was wore than the metal music that was still blasting in the background.

"Alice, I—"

"It's a first class flight!"

"Yes, but—"

"Alright, pack your bags. We'll see each other this weekend." And with that, I was left to listen to the sound of the dial tone as I stared at the phone in disbelief.

Was I the only one who was concerned about our safety, or more accurately, our freedom?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yes, I know it's been a while since this story's been updated, but unfortunately, this isn't mine or Star's first priority, especially now that school's back.**

**Ah, also, the quotes at the beginning of each chapter are merely for fun, nothing more. They more than likely will never hold any significance toward the chapter, so don't confuse yourself. I'm thinking I'll write a "quote of the day" for every chapter.**

**And yes, Star and I realize that the titles of our stories have a one word difference (hers is High Stakes in High Heels and mine doesn't have the second "high"), it was intentional. :)**

**Please REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I really don't see the sense in these anymore, but here goes nothing... We don't own Twilight. Darn.**

* * *

><p><strong> High Stakes in Heels<br>****Chapter Two**

"Most people have to talk so they won't hear."  
>—May Sarton<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Bella Swan<strong>

"Ladies and gentlemen, the plane will soon be landing. Please fasten your seat belts and prepare for landing."

I yawned and stretched in my seat before I put on my seat belt. Flying first class always made me sleepy.

I rummaged through my purse and pulled out a hairband and mirror. My makeup was slightly smeared and my hair was in slight disarray. I didn't really like wearing makeup, but it worked with the image I was portraying.

I pulled my hair into a neat ponytail and fixed my makeup quickly. I pulled the horrid pumps back on, already starting to fantasize about kicking them off. Then I waited patiently.

I gazed absentmindedly out the window while I waited for the plane to land.

While I was not particularly fond of the idea of following the instructions of an unknown person, I was definitely excited to see my two friends again.

I heard the buzz of the captain's voice, but I didn't pay any attention to that. I knew that we had landed since I was looking out the window but I remained still in my seat, since I never got off the plane immediately to avoid the rushing madness that the other passengers would most likely cause.

So I sat patiently in my seat and watched the people passing by until I finally got up, grabbed my things, and waltzed off the plane as fast and gracefully as I could in these shoes.

I rushed through the usual airport madness without paying much attention to anyone. I scanned my surroundings every two seconds carefully from behind my sunglasses, but I never saw anything out of the usual.

"Your passport please, Miss," the man behind the counter demanded politely.

I stopped looking around and send him an apologetic smile before I rummaged through my purse in search of my passport.

He flipped through the pages quickly. "Your first visit to London, is it?" he asked casually.

I grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "I'm already, like, totally excited. I've always, like, wanted to go shopping in London. It's gonna be so completely fabulous." I squealed quietly and then giggled right after that.

The guy only looked at me with an annoyed stare and then handed me back my passport. "Well, then have fun with that shopping trip of yours, Ms. Crane."

I waved at him and went to get my luggage. As soon as I turned my back at him, I let my smile drop, rolling my eyes from behind the lenses of my glasses, and pushed my way through the mass.

Thankfully it didn't take me long to find my suitcase and I was soon on my way out.

I didn't like spending too much time in a crowded place and this was definitely a crowded place.

_Why are there always so many people at the airport?_

I quickened my step—cursing the shoes while doing so—until I crashed into a cart.

"What the—" I started to say, but I was interrupted by the person pushing the cart I had crashed into.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such a dirty mouth," a female voice scolded.

In between rubbing my pained leg and picking up my purse from the ground, I looked up at the person.

She was blond with a model-like body, but an average face. She seemed to be somewhat around my age and had a really strong British accent.

"Sorry," I apologized quickly.

She only waved me off and winked. "No need to worry," she said before she pushed her cart passed me.

I turned around to look at her retreating figure, shaking my head.

_Some people..._

I pushed my sunglasses up in my hair and resumed my walk out of this building.

Merely five steps later, I crashed into another person. This time, it was a tiny girl with big curls on her head, a pair of thick glasses on her nose, and quite the contrary in the body department than the previous person I'd crashed into.

Her reaction was also not like my previous victim. She threw her hair over her shoulder, glared at me, and hissed something that sounded like "idiotic klutz" while she got away from me as fast as she could.

I stared after her for a few moments and then hurried to get out of there as fast as possible. There was no need to bump into another person today.

As soon as I stepped out of the enormous airport building, I saw a limousine parked in front of the entrance which had the two letter CC written on it in a fancy golden cursive script.

Whoever "CC" was definitely had way too much money.

I walked up to the driver standing next to it as confidently as I could. "Take care of my luggage, will ya?" I asked him sweetly when I came to halt in front of the startled man. He was elderly, but still seemed to be in good shape, so I didn't feel too bad about thrusting the handle of my suitcase into his hand and just getting into the back of the car.

The inside looked just like I imagined a limousine to look. There were three different leather benches and a table with a champagne cooler in the middle. I smiled and leaned forward, grabbing the bottle and one of the glasses on the table.

It had been too long since I had gotten to enjoy life like this.

Soon I was settled on the bench right beneath the little window that connected the back and front, with my battered copy of _Wuthering Heights _and a glass of champagne in my hand.

I started reading at a random page and found myself immersed in the story until I heard the door of the car being opened.

I didn't look up, but waited for someone to say something.

Nothing came.

I resumed reading until the motor of the car suddenly roared to life.

The hum of the window rolling down made me look up.

"Am I right with the assumption that you all have been invited?" the driver asked, looking a little bit lost.

I smiled sympathetically at him, knowing full well that he had a lot to deal with at that moment.

He looked at the people I knew were behind me, before he shrugged slightly and turned back to the front, the window closing slowly.

With a sigh I turned my attention back to the book in my hands.

It must have been about half an hour later that I decided that it was time to put the book down and refill my glass.

The other two people in the back of the limo looked up as well and I noticed that they looked completely unknown to me.

However that didn't mean that I didn't know them or had never met them.

The corners of my mouth twitched but I struggled to keep a straight face as all three of us were staring at each other.

"Blonde, huh?" said the one with the curls and the glasses. The way she asked was more joking than casual.

"Curls," I replied curtly, trying to sound nonchalant.

We all looked at each other in silence for another moment, before we finally started laughing.

"I can't believe that you are a blonde," Alice gasped.

"Oh please, did you hear Rose's accent?" I wheezed in return.

"There is nothing wrong with my accent," Rose defended herself.

"No, but your makeup…" Alice retorted with an exaggerated shudder.

"You're the one to talk. You have giant curls on your tiny head."

We continued laughing a little longer until we eventually ran out of funny remarks.

When all of us had calmed down, I carefully pulled out the pins in my hair that kept the wig in place.

It took longer than it should have for my thick mahogany brown curls to fall down my back.

I pushed my hair back and then removed most of my makeup.

Next, I discarded the pink jacket that I was wearing and then wiggled out of the short skirt, revealing a pair of slacks that I had managed to fold up to my thigh.

I pushed the pants properly in place and kicked off the pumps, only to make a pair of flats appear out of my purse.

I put them on and turned my attention back to my two friends.

Rose had now removed all of her makeup and the contacts, making her look like her gorgeous self again. It was still a miracle to me how she managed to make herself look _less_ attractive. She too had changed and now sat there in a pair of hot pants and a white long shirt with a silvery pattern on it.

She had also stolen my black pumps.

Alice had gotten rid of the long curls and had arranged her short hair in the usual spiky halo that made her look like an adorable little pixie.

She had thrown the glasses on the table and looked a little thinner now.

Seeing that she had been hiding a little dress with a ruffle skirt underneath a t-shirt and jeans it was no wonder that she had looked a little bigger before.

"You know guys, I think we need a new ritual to recognize each other," I noted. "My leg is going to bruise permanently if Rose keeps knocked her carts against it."

Rose grimaced slightly.

"Oh gosh, we really need a new plan. I crashed into three women today and the airport security was already starting to keep tabs on me."

"How did you make it to the car then without them watching?" I asked her.

"Oh, they probably watched but I just went up to that driver guy and gushed about wanting to drive in a limo once. Alice passed by and joined in on my whining."

I nodded in understanding. I was pretty sure that we were safe so there was no need to worry all that much about the fact that we were all connected through the car.

"So did any of you find anything on CC?" Alice asked.

"Nothing at all. It's hard to find something without any information," Rose replied.

"Let's just hope it's not some pervert," I mumbled.

"Quick change of topic," Rose announced, "We need to do something about Barcelona."

Both Alice and I sighed at that. It had been a topic for quite some time.

"I'll try and think of something," I promised.

Rose nodded. "Alright, now what was that that Alice told me about you flirting willingly with a guy?"

I groaned and slumped back in my seat.

"What? It's a big deal."

"No, it's not."

"Bella, it is a big deal seeing as you are never really attracted to men," Alice chirped in.

I rolled my eyes at her. "I'll admit that I'm never really attracted to men that cross my way, especially at work, and I'll admit that I might have reacted a _little_ differently to this particular guy, but I did not flirt with him, so stop letting your imagination run wild," I told them calmly.

"What do you mean you reacted differently?" Rose demanded right away.

"Nothing," I replied with a sigh. I should have known that I would be sighing a lot as soon as the three of us were reunited.

"Did you stumble?" Alice asked curiously.

"No."

"She probably walked into a glass door," Rose joked.

"Not that I know of."

"You fell on your face, didn't you?"

"No."

"Did you stutter?"

"No."

"Spill coffee all over him?"

"Nope."

"Gaped at him, open-mouthed?"

"God, no! We are talking about my life here, not some romantic-comedy."

"Well, one of your lives," Alice corrected.

"Yeah, yeah," I responded dismissively.

"So what did you do then?"

"I didn't do anything. I just... I might have blushed. Just a little," I admitted, knowing what was going to come next.

"What?"

Sometimes it was amazing how insanely high-pitched female voices could be.

"Isabella Swan, you haven't blush since...since...I don't think I've ever seen you blush," Rose said thoughtfully.

"Oh, she blushed when we were in college and I started dressing her properly," Alice noted.

"Oh yeah, I remember that. Ah, good times." Rose looked at something far away before she snapped back into reality. "So you blushed while talking to him?"

"Could we please just stop talking about this?"

"No way! This is far too interesting. You acted like a goofy teenager in the presence of a man and we weren't there to see it."

Alice let out a wistful sigh. "You should totally call him."

"What?" That was definitely not something I had been prepared for.

Alice looked like she was pleased with herself now that she had managed to catch me off guard.

Thankfully this conversation had to end when the car came to a sudden stop.

I had no idea where we were, but judging by the amount of trees around us, I came to the conclusion that we had left the city behind.

The door opened and Alice jumped out immediately, followed by Rose and me.

The limousine had stopped in front of one of the biggest mansions I had ever seen in real life.

It was practically a castle and the fountain in front of us made it even more surreal.

The giant mansion was surrounded by a pretty large yard as well, which was definitely nice to look at, although I didn't know where the beginning was, nor could I tell where the end was. I turned around quickly and noticed that the trail that the car had driven along was very long, but I could still see the huge gates at the end. I also realized that this mansion stood on top of a little hill.

Whoever CC was, he didn't just have a lot money - he had a lot of style, too.

While the three of us were gaping at our surroundings, the driver was gaping at us.

"Err... Weren't all of you... I think..." he sighed. "Maybe I should retire." He shook his head and then seemed to be dismissing the fact that the three people that had gotten into the car now looked completely different. "Just follow me," he instructed and led the way up to the mansion.

Behind those glorious doors was a beautiful entrance hall with a giant staircase in the center. The hall was big enough to be a ballroom, although I was pretty sure that the various doors that led away from the hall would reveal that there was a separate ball room somewhere.

"Whoever lives in here has way too much money and loves historic items," Rose noted quietly, pointing at a few statues in the room and at the ceiling.

Apart from the biggest chandelier ever, there as also a big painting of Salvador Dali on the ceiling.

"It must have cost a fortune to get that painted on the ceiling," I commented, completely in awe. It was like a museum in here and looking at the the little wooden stand beside me told me that there were a lot of valuable and antique things around here.

"Ladies," the driver, who seemed to be the butler as well, called to us and motioned toward a door at the far right. He led the way again while Rose muttered something about golden ornaments and diamonds somewhere.

Alice was looking at everything with wide eyes and was playing around with her fingers.

I sighed at the two of them before I scolded myself mentally for not being any better. I had already detected the controlling panel for the alarm system and might have calculated where the next exit would most likely be.

I shook my head to get rid of these thoughts and instead entered a big room right behind Alice and Rose.

This place gave a whole new meaning to the term 'living room' and that was not only because of the TV that took up an entire wall and the couch that was big enough to enable an entire neighborhood to sleep on it.

"Just take a seat and I will inform the master that you have arrived. Do you wish for anything to drink?" the driver-and-apparently-also-butler asked.

I declined politely as did Alice and Rose.

I noticed that the man looked around the room with a frown as if he were looking for someone before he hurried out of the room.

"Do you think it would be possible for us to take over this house?" Rose asked casually as soon as we were alone. She leaned back on the couch, sinking into the pillows, and put her feet on the glass coffee table in front of us.

"Not likely, Rose," I answered with a giggle.

"But still possible," an unknown male voice suddenly spoke. The voice was deep and loud, and definitely intimidating.

It startled all three of us enough to look around the room frantically.

From behind the little bar at the other side of the room appeared a big, bulky guy that was now moving in our direction. His hair was dark and curly, not quite suiting his overall scary exterior, but that was hardly important.

What was important was how fast we could get out and save ourselves before this guy made kebab out of us.

The muscle mountain lifted his beer bottle in some kind of greeting before he took a sip and pulled a grimace. "Damn, these British people don't have any taste at all." He slumped down on the couch at a safe distance and then watched us warily. "Who are you?" he asked boldly.

"Who are you?" Alice shot back before Rose or I could say anything else.

The big grizzly seemed to find that amusing since he grinned at Alice, revealing adorable dimples on his face. Maybe he wasn't as intimidating as the first impression made it seem.

"Sorry, I don't think I can tell you that," the grizzly answered with a shrug and took another sip from his beer.

"Well then, I guess you understand why we won't tell you anything either."

Grizzly guy narrowed his eyes at Alice, who didn't seem to be scared of him. "You are not working for CC, are you?" He made the question sound more like a fact.

"No, we are not," Rose chirped in. "You don't happen to know who that is, do you?"

The guy's eyes now flitted over to Rose and widened for a second. Rose tended to have that effect on lots of men.

"I don't think I would be here if that were the case. I take it you've been ordered here as well?"

"That's right," I chimed in this time, picking absentmindedly at my nails.

"Hmm..." His thoughtful hum sounded more like a rumble.

Silence followed since everyone seemed to be occupied with his or her own thoughts.

I looked around the room and discovered a few more art pieces that were almost irresistible. The stone mask, covered in glitter and feathers, particularly caught my interest. I remembered seeing it before and I remembered how badly Alice had wanted it but couldn't get it. Back then it had been in a magazine where they wrote about some rich historian who bought this special piece of art as an anniversary gift for his wife.

I scrambled in my mind to recall the name of that person just when a new voice spoke up.

"Oh, I see that all of you have made it here safely. Welcome."

Just when these words had been spoken, I remembered.

I jumped up and twirled around. "Carlisle Cullen!" I exclaimed proudly.

The person who had spoken was a middle-aged handsome man with blond hair. His blue eyes widened slightly at my sudden outburst but he regained his calm posture right away.

Behind him stood a little woman with beautiful caramel colored locks and a gorgeous heart shaped face. She looked a little startled at my outburst, much like everybody else in the room.

"Uh, Bella...are you on something?" Rose asked me carefully.

I pulled a grimace at her before I hurried to explain. "Four years ago, right after we met, Alice suggested that we should work together to get the Salomanian mask. She was crazy about the thing and got on our nerves 24/7. Jake finally pulled together every single piece of information that he could. Do you guys remember that?"

Alice scowled as she answered, "Oh yeah, some idiotic rich guy bought it for his wife and it was nearly impossible for us to get it then."

"Exactly," I grinned. "Now look what is hanging on the wall over there."

Alice and Rose both looked over to where I was pointing and Alice immediately gasped and jumped up to inspect the mask from a closer distance.

"The idiotic rich guy was named Carlisle Cullen, historian and author. To be exact, Dr. Carlisle Cullen. He has a PhD in Egyptian and European history. He's better known to us as CC."

"I must say, I'm quite impressed," the handsome blonde said genuinely. "I'm going to guess you are Ms. Swan."

I quirked an eyebrow at him but nodded anyway. It was still a mystery to me what he wanted from us, but since he knew our real names, it couldn't be anything related to our 'job'.

Alice opened her mouth, probably wanting to ask him what he wanted from us, but he silenced her by lifting his right hand.

"All of your questions will be answered at dinner, but for now, I would like for all of your to get settled in your rooms. Winston will accompany you there," he said and then gracefully exited the room, his wife by his side and the his butler staring at us expectantly.

"He doesn't honestly think that I'm staying here without even knowing why, does he?" Rose complained, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Seeing as you have travelled across the globe to see him, I think he's not far off in his assumption that you'll be staying here for a while," grizzly guy commented.

"I didn't travel across the globe," Rose snapped at him.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Don't be so mean, darling. How could he have known that?" I questioned before I followed after Winston, who was already leaving the room.

Winston led us up the enormous staircase and I couldn't help but notice the carvings in the dark wooden railings.

"Am I the only one who sees extremely valuable stuff everywhere I look?" Alice whispered quietly from beside me.

"No, you're not," I breathed and ran my hand over the wood. "It's beautiful."

"It's challenging," Alice retorted, even though my last words hadn't been meant for her. "How am I supposed to live a healthy life if I get pulled into situations like this?"

"Alice, you're not living a healthy life," Rose whispered to her, joining the conversation while the two men eyed us from behind.

"Oh be quiet, you know what I meant," responded Alice, a little too loudly.

I let out a hiss to remind her that we were not alone.

Alice turned back to me. "Bella, please remind me that I am in control of myself and that I don't need any of this," she pleaded, waving her hand around.

I gently placed my hand on her shoulder and, at a normal volume, told her, "Alice, you are in control and there is no need for you to doubt that."

She smiled gratefully at me, while Rose shook her head. She'd never liked these moments because she didn't see the sense in the whole thing.

Once we were on the upper level of the house, I was once again awestruck.

The royal red carpet and the cream-colored walls were one thing, but the various paintings on the walls of the corridor made it hard for me to believe my earlier words to Alice. If she managed to keep herself in check at this place, I'd have no doubt that she was truly recovered.

"Follow me," Winston called when the four of us were standing still, staring at the place with open mouths.

I quickly snapped my mouth shut and followed him, mostly because I wanted to see all the paintings and photos on the walls.

"Friedrich," I whispered in awe.

"Pardon me, Miss?" Winston said, though I hadn't been talking to him.

I pointed at the painting we'd just passed. "Caspar David Friedrich, a German artist. 19th century, romantic. Painted mostly landscapes. This is a copy, though - the original is in Hamburg."

"Well, Miss, you are certainly well-informed, although not well enough," Winston replied and smiled almost arrogantly as he kept leading the way.

"What?"

Rose drew in a sharp breath, knowing that Winston had just severely bruised my ego.

"I could tell you more about this special piece, but seeing as it's only a copy, I don't see the sense," I snapped defensively.

"Of course," Winston responded, unconvinced.

I narrowed my eyes at him before zeroing in on the next painting. "Édouard Manet, a French artist. Late 19th century and again, the painting is a copy. The original is in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris."

"Why does she know all this junk?" I heard the grizzly guy ask from behind me.

"She doesn't have very many hobbies," Alice answered.

"Again, I have to inform you that you seem to be slightly misinformed," Winston said, now visibly amused. "This is your room, Miss..." he then added quickly and gestured to the door next to the Manet painting. He'd let his voice trail off, though, when he realized that he didn't know my name.

I gave him the evil eye and silently stomped passed him, shutting the door behind me with as much force as I could muster.

As soon as the annoying butler was out of my line of sight, I calmed down and turned my attention to the room.

It was big, held entirely in white. Right on the opposite side of the wall was a big window that stretched as far as the wall with a white side board beneath it that was just as long.

The view was so beautiful that I couldn't bring myself to pay attention to the king-sized white bed that seemed to have been built in the style of German middle-aged beds. I looked outside the window and saw a beautiful little pond, flanked by a group of trees with stunning shades of yellow, orange and brown swirling on their branches in the wind. It was times like these that I felt I truly appreciated Autumn.

I noticed a little TV area in the room and beside it, the door that led to the bathroom, which was a mixture of blues and whites. I also noticed my suitcase standing by the foot of the bed and forgot about my annoyance towards Winston.

With a sigh, I threw myself on the couch and remained still for a moment.

My eyes wandered around the room. I always had a habit of inspecting my surroundings carefully.

_One, two, three..._

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.

"Come in," I called in a bored voice. Knowing them it was probably Rose or Alice - most likely both.

"The rooms are so beautiful," I heard Alice gush before she stepped into my view with Rose trailing behind her.

"I wouldn't mind staying here for a longer amount of time," Rose said casually. She threw herself on the bed while Alice pushed my legs aside to get seated on the couch beside me.

I only grunted in response to their statements.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked immediately, "Don't you like it here? You should, 'cause the view alone is enough to convince an average person."

"I know, I know. I admit that the whole place is really beautiful and kind of intriguing, but-"

Rose groaned loudly.

Both Alice and I turned to look at her with confused expressions.

"What? I know Bella's now going to say something that makes all of us hate this place. We've barely even arrived!" she said defensively.

"Sorry, but I thought you would want to know that there are three surveying cameras installed in this room alone."

"What?" Alice shrieked, jumping up and looking around wildly.

"Yeah," I said lazily, pointing up to the curtain, where the first one was hidden. "There is the first one. The second is attached to the TV and the third is hidden in the chandelier up there."

Alice and Rose followed my movements and looked straight into each camera. Now that I pointed them out, they actually saw them. It was some kind of advanced technology, seeing as they were as small as they were. A normal person wouldn't have been able to find them.

"Oh man," Alice sighed. "Talk about creepy."

"Do you think they can hear us, too?" Rose wondered.

I shrugged. "Probably."

She sighed. "And here I thought I was going to like this place," she muttered.

"Sorry to disappoint."

We all sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"Do you think they know something?" Alice asked after a few moments.

"There is no way that they know anything," Rose replied.

"I'm not too sure about that," I mumbled. "Why else would we be ordered here with no specific reason?"

"Maybe they are perverts and plan to misuse us for their own personal pleasure?" Rose offered, not really sounding like she believed that.

"Then it would be weird that they had us travel across the globe to get here," Alice threw in.

Rose merely shrugged. "It's also weird that the letters were sent to our actual addresses."

"That is indeed very strange," I mused. "That combined with the fact that we are being watched should tell us that they know who we are and what we do."

"You think they're cops?" Alice shrieked.

"No way, Al," Rose scoffed, "cops aren't nearly smart enough to find us."

"She's right. According to Jacob, they don't have anything that could lead them to us," I agreed.

"What? Last time I saw him he told me that the FBI was now _officially_ looking for me."

Rose groaned. "He didn't mean Mary-Alice Brandon, you idiot. He was talking about-"

"Rose," I hissed and gestured toward one of the cameras.

"What? They already know who we are."

"But we don't know how much they know and it would be wise to keep a few things to ourselves, in case we need to vanish."

She rolled her eyes. "You know that's not going to be a problem whatsoever."

"For you," Alice chimed. "But that's only because you are all over-"

"Alice," I hissed again. Sometimes, I wondered if they wanted to be discovered.

Alice rolled her eyes now as well.

"So what do we do now?" Rose asked, trying to find something we could talk about in this situation.

I sighed. "I don't know. We can't even call Jake, 'cause he made himself disappear yet again."

"He's such a coward," Alice mumbled.

Rose made an agreeing sound, while I just stayed silent.

A knock on the door echoed throughout the room.

"Err... Come in," I called.

The door opened and Winston peeked in. "Dinner is served," he announced.

Rose, Alice and I looked at each other before we got up and followed Winston.

The grizzly guy was already with him, inspecting each of us with a calculating expression.

"See something you like?" Rose asked him, sarcastic and cocky.

"Most definitely," he answered with a wink.

Alice giggled, while Rose rolled her eyes again.

We all followed Winston back downstairs into a big dining room, decorated in all kinds of golden ornaments.

Carlisle Cullen definitely had too much money.

The dining table was set for seven people, which made me frown in wonder.

"Are you having dinner with us, Winston?" I asked the gray-haired man.

He only chuckled. "No, but the young master will be joining you soon," he answered before he left the room.

"I guess we should get seated..." Alice remarked and sat down.

I sat down beside her and Rose took the seat on my right.

The grizzly guy seemed to have taken some interest in Rose and sat down opposite of her, leaving two seats to his right empty.

I inspected the silverware on the table and came quickly to the conclusion that they were beautiful, delicate, very expensive antiques.

"They're antiques," Alice whispered to me and lifted a knife, pointing at a crest that was engraved in it.

Of course she would notice something like that.

"It's our family crest," a voice spoke up from behind.

We turned and saw Carlisle Cullen enter together with his wife and a young man behind him.

It wasn't hard to see that he was their son. Not only because Winston had mentioned a 'young master', but because he had the same blue eyes as Mr. Cullen, and also blond hair.

The Cullens all got seated, looking at us with varying expressions.

While Mr. Cullen seemed to be kind of excited, his wife eyes us with a wary expression. Their son just seemed to be curious, which made me wonder if he even knew why we were here. Probably not, seeing as we didn't even know the answer to that ourselves.

"Are we going to get our questions answered now?" Grizzly guy asked.

A mere chuckle was our response. "Let me make the introductions first, while dinner is being served," he then said and moved his hand under the table.

A distinct buzzing sound was to be heard and I guessed that it was the signal for whomever to serve dinner

"As Ms. Swan noted earlier, my name is Carlisle Cullen," he started.

It made me feel a little uncomfortable that he used my name in such a casual manner.

"This is my wife, Esme, and my son, Jasper." He gestured toward each person. Then he turned toward his wife. "Darling, this is Emmett McCarty. He is a...retrieval specialist of sorts." He motioned toward the grizzly guy, who didn't seem to be very comfortable with the fact that Mr. Cullen knew him. I knew exactly how he felt.

I frowned slightly at his words. What in the world was a retrieval specialist and why did it sound like there was a little more to it than that?

"Then we have Rosemarie Whitlock," Mr. Cullen said, and I watched how Rose shifted in her seat. "She is probably one of the most talented grifters in the world. I'm not even sure if we got her real identity or not."

I grimaced. With Rose, nobody could ever be too sure about that.

"This is Mary-Alice Brandon. She is an expert thief, pickpocket and safe-cracker. She is also quite the acrobat."

Alice let out a quiet giggle, but stopped when I nudged her lightly.

"And last but not least we have Isabella Marie Swan. I wouldn't call her a thief - as a matter of fact, it's hard to classify her. She's something like a strategic criminal. The three girls work together most of the time and she is the team's mastermind."

With these words said, he turned the attention to his food.

I hadn't even realized that we all had plates in front of us now.

Esme Cullen looked at each of us before she started to eat as well.

I just sat there, a bit dumbfounded.

"Just for the record," Rose suddenly spoke up, "you did not get my real identity."

"What?" Alice and I exclaimed at the same time, staring at her in disbelief.

"What what?" she asked back.

"You told us that your real name is Rosemarie Whitlock. I even laughed at you for having such a crappy name!" Alice said.

"Oh yeah, I lied. It's not my real name."

"You lied to us?" Alice and I asked in unison.

"Of course I did," Rose said as if it should be the most obvious thing. "I lie to everybody. It's my job."

"But we're your best friends," I replied.

"Which is why I let you interact with the one identity that I like the most." She said all of this in a perfectly calm voice, not even looking at us.

"I don't believe it," I muttered. We had been best friends ever since the day we met in college. I had always thought I knew them and then Rose just reveals now that that's not even her real name. Maybe she didn't even like us and just used us as a cover. Who knew what she was really like?

Maybe she was an assassin.

"Before any of you ask. I only lied about my name and some parts of my biography. I still love you guys like my own sisters and I'm not some kind of psycho that just uses you or something," Rose stated as if she had read my mind.

I quirked an eyebrow at her, but she didn't say anything else as everyone else at the table looked on, amused.

"Are you going to tell us your real name?" Mr. Cullen asked.

"No. It's not like it matters anyway. She died a long time ago," Rose responded in a clipped tone.

Alice and I exchanged looks, still trying to process this new piece of information.

"Then it is no surprise that I couldn't find out your real name," Jasper said quietly.

All eyes now rested on him.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

He looked up and jumped slightly when he realized that four sets of eyes were looking at him, slightly menacing.

"I tracked each of you down," he replied after a few seconds.

"How did you do that?" Grizzly - Emmett - asked him.

Jasper shrugged. "It took me some time. My dad wanted me to find some suitable people for his purpose, so I kept tabs on all kinds of crimes going on. I mostly based my work on security camera footage from around the world. None of you were ever actually to be seen, but each of you has a certain, unique...style. For instance, the girls always work together. So I talked to some people, hacked a few databases, and eventually found you."

"You make it sound easy. It shouldn't be that easy to find out who we really are," Alice noted.

"It's not easy," he said. "In fact, it's quite impossible. But I'm a profiler and a good one at that, so I have a knack for reading people without even meeting them. It makes it easier to find them."

"Tracker sounds more accurate," I mumbled.

Jasper chuckled. "I guess you could say that. I've never actually tracked a person down before; this was the first time."

"Pretty good for a first-timer," Emmett grumbled, obviously not pleased that he had succeeded.

Neither was I, to be honest. If this guy ever decided to work for the government, we would be screwed.

"Yeah, but it took me about three years."

"Three years? Just how old are you and don't you have any hobbies?" Rose asked him in surrpise.

"I'm twenty-eight and I do have a few hobbies...tracking you down just happened to be one of them."

"And what exactly do you need us for? It has to be something big if you let your son spend three years of his life to find the 'right people'. How do you even know that we are suitable for whatever you have in mind?" I asked Mr. Cullen, who had only been watching us.

"Oh, I'm pretty positive that you are the right ones. You are the perfect combination for a team and none of you are overly violent in your...jobs, so that works just fine for me." He cast a slightly nervous look in Emmett's direction as he said that, which probably went unnoticed by everybody else.

"Well, it's certainly nice to know that our working styles impress you, but would you mind telling us what you need from us?" Rose asked, sounding pretty annoyed.

Carlisle smiled gently at her. "I need you to work for me," he answered. "As thieves, of course."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yeah, we haven't updated in a while. Sorry, but as I said before, this is not a priority. I'm already almost failing Math after one test. Shitty deal, eh? Yeah, it really sucks. A lot. But it's okay because I think I'll somehow manage to scrounge through eleventh grade Math anyway.**

**So my birthday passed almost a month ago. January 25th. Yeah, yay me. I had my Social Studies exam that day... Definitely don't think I did too well on that. But the****n I found out I aced my English exam. Now that is awesome because I actually enjoy English, unlike the rest of my classes. :) I was the only one who aced English this year in my class. AW YEAH, BUDDAY!**

**Okay, I don't know why I'm brag-ranting, but I am. Sorry.**

**Thoughts on this chapter?**

**If so, please leave them in a REVIEW! (Really, it doesn't take all that much effort to click a few buttons and press a few keys).**


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